Proto-Renaissance (The Trecento) | The
Beginnings of Italian Renaissance Art

The
Proto-Renaissance or Trecento (from Italian
"mille trecento," 1300) refers to Italian culture of the
14th century. It was in the
Proto-Renaissance that the ornamental,
very detailed, International Gothic style of painting by
artists like Gentile da Fabriano was in full bloom. The
Proto-Renaissance style of painting and
sculpture was shortly to change, however. Brewing in the
Proto-Renaissance was a new style, more
simple and classical which would revolutionize the art world.
It is during the Proto-Renaissance that
we see the beginnings of Early Renaissance Art
inItaly.
Proto-Renaissance or Trecento painters
like Giotto
di Bondone and others were active during this time.
Proto-Renaissance artists laid a solid
groundwork upon which later artists were able to build. The
Proto-Renaissance or Trecento was also a time
of extraordinary literary achievement, with
Proto-Renaissance/Trecento writers like Dante,
Petrarch and Boccaccio leading the field.